THIS is the horrifying moment an Israeli mafia don embroiled in “blood feuds” is shot dead at point- blank range.
Arch-criminal Yanis Yushvaev was assassinated as he left a petrol station near Caesarea, a town around 30 miles north of Tel Aviv.
Distressing CCTV footage, which The Sun has chosen not to show in full, sees a gunman wearing a hat, hoodie and glasses casually walk up a short flight of stairs.
Yushvaev, 40, is seen exiting the building flanked by two associates as the assassin pressed up against the glass door.
Moments later, the shooter pulls out a pistol and fires into the back of Yushvaev’s head as the three men have their backs turned.
The crime boss is seen tumbling down the stairs as the gunman flees on foot.
Yushvaev was critically injured and pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
Cops said the killing was criminally motivated and have launched a major manhunt for suspects who they believe fled in a vehicle.
Yushvaev was one of Israel’s most feared gangsters and was repeatedly arrested in connection with shootings, arsons and violent criminal underworld clashes.
Police described him as the leader of an organised crime group associated with Israel’s Caucasus community that was involved in a number of feuds.
A decade ago, Yushvaev was shot and wounded in Hadera, a city just north of Caesarea, but recovered from his injuries and bolstered his influence.
Police accused him of targeting the home of a Hadera businessman and wounding a civilian in shootings last June, but he was released without charge.
Yushvaev’s death comes just six months after he was arrested at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on his way back from Moscow.
In that case, intelligence suggested that he had returned with the intention of harming rival gang members, Ynet reported.
He was eventually released due to insufficient evidence.
Yushvaev was indicted in 2021 after threatening to murder a businessman if he didn’t pay a $1.1million (£800,000) debt.
The mafia boss was known to demand “complete loyalty” from his henchmen.
He would “almost never” talk on the phone to evade wiretaps, leading to a police source saying it was frustratingly “hard to convict him”.
Yushvaev’s killing comes as Israel grapples with a growing organised crime problem.
Feuds have increasingly spilled into public arenas, with thirteen attacks reported in just a number of days, according to The Telegraph.
Branches of the popular sushi chain Japanika have recently been targeted with grenades, gunfire and arson attacks in what cops have linked to clashes between the Mosli (Jewish) and Jarushi (Arab) crime families.
Murders are reportedly sharply on the rise, with 309 recorded in Israel last year, a 109 per cent increase on the 148 victims in 2022.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has been criticised for his inaction and denied accusations that he is treating it as an internal Arab problem.
